Many people – let’s call them tourists, not travellers – have this tendency to identify a country to its capital. You’ll often hear them say: I visited Bucharest, so I visited Romania. No, the fact that you visited Bucharest means you visited Bucharest, the capital of Romania, that is only one city of Romania, but there are countless other things that you can discover there (other cities, villages, fortresses, castles, palaces, museums, monasteries, mountains, lakes, resorts, the seaside and so on and so forth). I’m stating this because this Friday (April 5th) I’m leaving with a group in a trip around Bulgaria and Serbia, to discover some hidden historical gems that one should not miss especially if they live or get to this part of the planet.

Below I’ve shared our itinerary, pointing out some useful and interesting info on the places we’re going to see:

Day 1 (340 km): Craiova (Romania) – Portile de Fier II-Djerdap II border between Romania and Serbia – Zajecar (Here you should visit Felix Romuliana UNESCO site in Gamzigrad. We visited last year and it’s worth the shot if you’re into history / archaeology) – Zajecar-Kula border between Serbia and Bulgaria – Belogradchik (Here we will visit the city, Kaleto fortress and the unique, strangely shaped rock formations) – Rabisha (The second stop for the day, to visit the famous Magura Cave with prehistorical mural paintings) – Vidin (Tour of the city, walk along the Danube’s bank and accommodation for the night).

Day 1 Itinerary

Day 2 (175 km): Vidin (Visiting Baba Vida medieval fortress) – Bregovo-Kobisnica border between Bulgaria and Serbia – Donji Milanovac resort (Halting for a visit to Lepenski Vir archaeological site) – driving along the Danube through Djerdap National Park – Golubac (Quick stop at the remains of the 14th century Golubac Fortress) – Veliko Gradiste – Srebrno Jezero resort (Tour of the main attraction – the Silver Lake and accommodation for the night).

Day 2 Itinerary

Day 3 (150 km): Srebrno Jezero – Pozarevac (Heading some kilometres north of the city, to take a tour of Viminacium Roman city and fortress) – Avala Mountain (Visiting the monuments on the mountain – Monument to the Unknown Hero, Monument to the Soviet war veterans and the Memorial Park – and going up Avala Tower for a beautiful view over Belgrade) – Belgrade (Quick stop to see the Cathedral of St Sava and accommodation for the night).